Although today Paul O'Grady is best known for his programmes about poorly pooches, at one time, attired in leopard-skin as Lily Savage, 'The Deadly White Flower of the Wirral', he was a drag act to rival Barry Humphries's Dame Edna. O'Grady learned his craft with the Carlton Players in Birkenhead and as a member of the Everyman Youth Theatre in Liverpool.
There's an infectious joy about Hendra's eccentric creations (Barry The Fish With Fingers; Doug The Bug That Went Boing!), and this second outing for Norman the Slug will sparkle on a chilly day.
A lifetime of experience has been distilled into a fascinating and compulsively readable manual on leadership and the quest for success, in life as well as in sport.
Nearly 100 years on, the Somme's ability to shock and horrify remains undimmed. Roberts's vividly written, crisply authoritative account of the first day of the battle is full of details that stick.
'With this book...I had to cook myself strong,' Nigella writes in the introduction. The suggestion is that her kitchen became a sanctuary during a painfully public few years.
MUST READS
Look up at the sky, and see the white vapour lines and crosses of a plane's path.
LITERARY FICTION
Forty-year-old Sam Tahar has 'rid himself of his past like a murderer'.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Pulitzer Prize-winning Brooks has written a compelling novel.
POPULAR FICTION
Quentin Letts' knowledge of Westminster is put to good use.
THRILLERS
A sort of sequel - or, at least, a parallel - to Nesbo's bestseller Blood On Snow.
DEBUT FICTION
Poet John Milton was buried in St Giles Cripplegate in 1674.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
Boyne returns to Nazi Germany in this affecting morality tale.
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Some of the Mail's critics reveal their top picks of this year's books, including The Whites by Richard Price, as Harry Brandt, called 'the crime novel of the year' by Stephen King and a rollicking romp of a read replete with glitz, glamour, private jets and hot sex The Santangelos by the late Jackie Collins.
The English general could not contain his exasperation. Edward Spears was in Paris for crisis talks as Hitler's armies poured across the border in the spring of 1940.
I feel as though I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Benedict le Vay is a trivia hound with an incredibly sensitive nose for the ridiculous fact. He collects a profusion of unrelated nuggets.
William Tallon was a working-class lad who forged an extraordinary career in royal service. Over more than five decades, 'Backstairs Billy' as he was known, became much more than a servant.
Bel Mooney gives her recommendations for books to give as gifts concerning nature, including A Wild Life by Martin Hughes-Games and The Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy.
After 35 years as a professional gardener, Carol Klein (right) has concluded that the secret to successful growing is to listen to your plants. She suggests considering your garden a natural habitat.
When Diana Melly's son died of a heroin overdose, aged just 24, she got so drunk on the day of his funeral that she forgot to view his body. She had a nervous breakdown and spent time in a clinic.
Some of the Mail favourite writers reveal what books they've loved this year, just in time for you to buy them as Christmas gifts. From the classics to the well-loved secrets, they've got it all.
Simon Callow has spent the past 25 years reliving the life of Orson Welles, his idol and inspiration. It has been a full-time occupation: this is his third substantial volume recording it.
One Saturday in November 1943, a single woman in her early 30s sat down behind the blackout screens of her little cottage near Slough and took stock of her situation.
For more than 40 years, Greenfield has produced quite breath-taking photographs of dancers in mid-flight.
Marcus Berkmann finds the best coffee table books whether you're interested in wildlife, fashion or silent film. They make perfect, versatile presents whatever your age.
Despite 50 years of tireless conservation efforts, tigers - and many more magnificent creatures - are still endangered. Photographer Scott looks at what has gone wrong.
In cricket, white is associated with the colour of the clothing worn, rather than that of the pitch. But in this charming little book aimed at cricket nuts, the author takes us on a wintry tour of grounds.
All this week, Labour MP Simon Danczuk is laying bare how the Establishment, the Liberal Party, the police and even MI5 covered up the industrial-scale child abuse of 29-stone Rochdale MP Cyril Smith. Today, how his victims were ignored and betrayed when they tried to expose their suffering.
In the finale of her unique inside story, Vicky Pryce, the wife of disgraced ex-minister Chris Huhne, describes life at open prison East Sutton Park.
In the second extract from her autobiography, published exclusively in the Mail today, Mary Berry describes the sudden death of the son she doted on, pictured left.
In his compelling new biography, Gary Morecambe talks about his father's relationship with Ernie Wise and how he continued to make them laugh even up until the end.
The star was accused of being a communist after allegedly telling banquet guests 'the Russian purges' were a 'wonderful thing'.
Jerry and Lucian had never quite bonded. While sitting for him she gave him cashmere jerseys, which he loathed. But worse, she had a habit of being late.
In an extract from his explosive memoirs, Power Trip, Damian McBride reveals how the former Chancellor survived by the skin of his teeth after credit crunch bungle.
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